


i will rescue you

by merikai



Series: luffy is hurting and that shall be recognized [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Monkey D. Luffy Needs a Hug, Teen rating for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28969893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merikai/pseuds/merikai
Summary: "you were going to leave, like he did." sabo flinched."i heard your conversation. you- you said all you wanted was to just see my face." luffy's eyes glimmer with fresh tears. "you didn't even want to say goodbye."or: luffy is hurting, sabo is guilty, and they both fix each other together.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy & Sabo
Series: luffy is hurting and that shall be recognized [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112039
Comments: 10
Kudos: 77





	i will rescue you

**Author's Note:**

> songfic i guess :]
> 
> rescue - lauren daigle. it's so pretty and makes me cry every time and it just fits luffy.
> 
> vent (?)

_ i will send out an army to find you  _

_ in the middle of the darkest night  _

_ it's true, i will rescue you _

...

seeing sabo at dressrosa was the most closure he's had since jimbei pulled him out of his depression. 

the fact that no, he wasn't the last of the three brothers left, and no, not all of his family was  dead.  seeing that blonde idiot older brother of his, who he thought was dead all those years ago, was so  _refreshing_. 

it made luffy's heart ache that ace died thinking sabo wasn't alive. 

luffy was pretty sure sabo thought about that too. 

when luffy saw sabo in the colosseum, what went through his head was,  _ where were you? where did you go? where have been? _ those phrases were mixed with  _please don't leave please don't leave pleasepleasepleasedon'tleaveme_. 

luffy knew sabo was a revolutionary now. that's who he was saved by. his own father, ironically. it was laughable. he knew sabo had his own duties, jobs. but when he woke up without prying open his eyes, hearing  sabo  retell his story, he couldn't help but eavesdrop. 

by the end, luffy was shocked. he wanted to ask sabo so many questions, if he got the energy to open his mouth.

it was when luffy felt panic settle deep in his veins when robin said to stay for a bit, but sabo said all he wanted was to see luffy's _face_. 

he didn't want to talk to him. he didn't wanna tell luffy where'd he been, or maybe even why he never showed up before now. and now he was about to leave. again. without saying _goodbye_.

the thought hurt like a _bitch_.

when sabo closed the door behind him, luffy couldn't help but lean up immediately, gasping. "i-," he shut his eyes tightly, hearing robin and zoro gasp that he'd been awake. " shit."  he whispered. 

he pulled himself out of bed swiftly, ignoring the pain flaring in his entire being. he walked towards the door fueled on pure emotion, his entire body too worn, screaming at him to sit down. a hand grabbed his wrist- probably zoro- murmuring comfortingly to calm himself, but luffy shook it off. 

he pulled the door open, ignoring his crew's calls to stay, gently closing it behind him. he spotted sabo walking down the path of the flower field, and luffy sprinted secretly behind sabo. 

luffy could feel a warm, building pressure behind his eyes, but luffy ignored it. 

luffy opened his mouth to speak, reaching for sabo's wrist but blinking in shock as sabo harshly grabbed luffy's own wrists. it was probably out of habit being a revolutionary. 

luffy stared wide eyed and frozen as his big brother pinned him helplessly mid-stand. the blonde looked slightly angry, uncharacteristic for sabo, but it vanished immediately to something more like concern. he lets go of luffy's hands.

"luffy, were you awake-?" sabo searches luffy's face for answers. luffy pants, out of breath due to his injuries, but he  had  to get back to sabo.

"you were going to _leave_." sabo jolted, his position forgotten, all attention focused on his baby brother. 

"what?" sabo's eyes narrowed at luffy, not unkindly. the blonde reached out, cupping luffy's cheeks as his tears stared to spill out. luffy squirms, hands brushing his tears by himself. sabo forced him to meet his older brother's blue eyes.

"you were going to _leave_ , like he did." sabo flinched, eyes wide and jaw falling open. his fingers dug into luffy's skin-not roughly- and sabo pressed their foreheads together. sabo has to slightly lean down to do so, and luffy speaks through his tears.

"i heard your conversation. you- you said all you wanted was to just see my face." luffy's eyes glimmer with fresh tears. "you didn't even want to say  _goodbye_. "

sabo stares at him regretfully, thumbs brushing his cheeks dry. his eyebrows crease, opening his mouth to explain, but luffy doesn't give him the chance.

"i've been _so_ _ lonely. _ " he sobs. 

sabo faintly remembers a child, crying out something too heartbreaking to be spoken so young. 

_ being lonely is much more painful than getting hurt!  _

that's what luffy had said to ace's and sabo's faces, when ace had wondered why luffy kept following him. 

_ because he had no one else.  _

sabo wants to cry. he doesn't notice tears building in his eyes as luffy spills his bottled feelings for the past two years.

"i had to wait  _ two years  _ until i got to see my crew again, sabo!  _two_.  i had nightmares _every night_ , and i thought i had no brothers left. ace left so abruptly, and i thought i could save him! i had done  _everything_ ,  and not even that was good enough. i tried so  _ hard _ , but not even that was enough. and when he died, i thought i was  _alone_.  that i had lost both of you. and now you're here, and you want to  _leave_." 

luffy pulled away from his brother's grip, shoving his face into sabo's chest. sabo placed his hands on his little brother's shoulders as he felt them shake. 

"i'm so _happy_ , sabo. i'm so  happy that you're _alive_." 

sabo reached up, back of his hand brushing his tears away. he placed a hand in luffy's hair, fingers carding through expertly. he heard luffy sigh quietly. 

"i'm happy you're alive, too, luffy." luffy turns his head so his ear is lying over sabo's heartbeat. "i just..knew if i stayed while you were awake, i'd never be able to leave. i didn't know that you had awoken."

sabo placed his hand under luffy's chin, tilting it so luffy was looking at him. the blonde moved his hands to luffy's cheeks, leaning down to press a kiss to his brother's forehead. 

he blinks slowly, face wet with tears. he leans his forehead against sabo's shoulder, "you won't leave."

he said it as a statement, as if declaring sabo wasn't  allowed  to leave. he acted as though sabo would in the first place.

"i won't. not forever." sabo affirmed, placing his chin on the crown of luffy's head. "i will walk you back to your friends, but i have to leave tonight."

he could feel luffy's scowl, as if he was frustrated, against his chest. "you aren't allowed to  _leave_." 

it dawned on sabo, and he understood. 

_ you aren't allowed to show up in the newspaper announcing your death. _

_ you aren't allowed to leave and never come back. _

_ you aren't allowed to die.  _

_ not like ace.  _

sabo smiled, a small sheen of melancholy peppered over it. "i wouldn't dream of it."

luffy leaned more of his weight against sabo, almost slumping against him in relief that sabo understood. 

"oi, don't fall asleep." sabo muttered, knowing his fate and already slinging an arm around luffy's waist. 

"you'll carry me anyways." luffy sniffled, "i miss him." 

sabo stopped as he pulled luffy into his arms. "i do too."

sabo lugged his little brother back into the cabin, the kid snuggled in his arms like a baby. his face was covered in dry tear tracks, lips swollen from being bit on harshly, hands still slightly shaking. 

sabo noticed the swordsman open his eye secretively from his spot in the corner of the room, protectively analyzing luffy. his face creased in concern noticing the tears. his hands twitched, but sabo gripped luffy a little tighter to let him know he'll be okay. 

sabo silently approved of him, getting props to luffy for finding such a loyal first mate. 

sabo walked silently to luffy's bed, gently placing him down. he pulled the blankets over him, ruffling luffy's hair. 

he gave luffy one long once-over, smiling gently at him. 

he'll see him again. 

...

_ i hear the whisper underneath your breath _

_ i hear you whisper, you have nothing left _

**Author's Note:**

> this would've gone in my multi chap vent fic but it got too long and written well enough it could be its own work.


End file.
